Self-Sufficiency

"As the Information Age transforms Canadian society, Aboriginal Canadians can not risk being left behind. According to this report, information and communications technologies (ICT) "offer critical opportunities to strengthen Aboriginal cultural identities, promote sustainable community development and achieve greater self-reliance." These national recommendations reveal a critical opportunity for Canada's First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples to leapfrog into the Information Age."

Article includes a figure showing the Aboriginal approach to economic development, including the four purposes and three main processes. It also looks at whether the Aboriginal approach to development can deliver the results anticipated by the government (by 2016, Aboriginal people are projected to be making a $375 million contribution to the Canadian economy – as opposed to an estimated $11 billion cost should their circumstances remain as they were in 1996 relative to other Canadians – due to land claim settlements and other capacity-building activities by the government).